Book Banning: The Importance of Teaching Discomfort

Anabela Mehreteab, 17, New York

My entire class read a banned book, and we are better for it. 

If you look online at the top ten most banned books in America, you’ll begin to notice a repetition of topics the books address: feminist ideas, homosexuality, and issues of race. It is not a coincidence that school boards across the nation have taken the voices of historically marginalized groups off the shelves and out of our classrooms. As a society, we have made great strides with representation in film and literature, but with the sudden surge of book banning that began in 2020, we seem to have turned around and started walking the other way. 

Luckily, my school did not follow suit. During the spring of my sophomore year, I read one of the most banned and challenged books in America: The Bluest Eye, by American novelist and Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison. The novel follows Pecola, Cholly, and Pauline through their tragic yet painfully realistic stories, pointedly depicting the crushing weight of white supremacy in America and how they navigate an unforgiving world dominated by white standards. 

The book was banned in many public institutions for depictions of incest, explicit content, and emotionally heavy material. Moreover, many reviews claimed that it was simply “a bad book” with unnecessary graphic content, especially for teenagers. However, the majority of the issues that banned books talk about are already known to teenagers, suggesting that the debate is not truly about books exposing us to the challenging reality of the world. With our unlimited access to news outlets and social media, many of us are aware of our world’s current and often tragic events. The content that children and teenagers are exposed to on social media is far more dangerous than any novel taught in the classroom. Book banning doesn’t protect teenagers, it only sends the message that those topics are taboo and should never be uncovered, even in a classroom. It tells us that some stories, stories that far too many people have lived, are not worthy of being expressed and are too “inappropriate”.

It was the last few months of the school year, and we began our unit with a discussion on whether or not books should even be banned in the first place. This was the only time during this unit our class unanimously agreed: book banning was ridiculous. But as we started reading, the topics became increasingly intense and sensitive. Before we would dive into a new chapter, we would look at real-world examples of issues that could be found in that chapter, such as colorism, family dynamics, and systemic racism. 

We quickly came to realize that we all held extremely different views, and my fifth-period English class became a haven for strong discussions and debates. One of our topics we explored was the new live-action Disney movie The Little Mermaid, where our class was surprisingly split on the casting choices. Even though we didn’t all agree, we were put in a position where we were forced to hear each other out and try to understand other sides. 

It’s no question that The Bluest Eye deals with difficult, complicated issues. It’s also no question that our class disagreed on those issues. Its depiction of incest and sexual assault was troubling, and something that is not typically talked about in school. In our classroom, our teacher encouraged anyone who was uncomfortable to skip over the passages or take a walk during those discussions. Throughout the course of the unit, our class was able to tackle topics that we wouldn’t normally have been able to discuss in an educational environment. 

A stated purpose of school is to “prepare students for the real world,” but banning books seems to do the opposite job of that. It’s impossible to ever be prepared for this world if we don’t grapple with and educate ourselves about real-life issues. Our public schools need to serve as a safe space for learning about these problems, and we need to become comfortable with being uncomfortable. Literature, film, and other forms of media are powerful tools that we should use to explore the most urgent issues in our society. Words are the most impactful resource we have, especially ones that challenge the status quo. I’ve learned that many people are afraid that talking about something will make it real, but I don’t want to live in a fantasy that ignores the most prominent and pressing issues of our time. Book banning is just another way to silence voices that speak the truth and censor experiences that don’t align with the standard national narrative of melting pot bliss. 

Reading, analyzing, and discussing a banned book taught me to explore tension, rather than running away from it. Differing opinions, more often than not, are needed when we are trying to better understand the people around us. I want to be in a classroom where I know I will be challenged by other people’s ideas and perspectives, because ignorance starts with unwillingness to learn and step outside what you already know. 

As our last assignment of the year, we were tasked with writing a research paper connecting any topic or theory to one of the books we had covered. I chose The Bluest Eye and connected it to W.E.B. Du Bois’s theory of double consciousness, which explains how living with the intense and conflicting standards of two cultures can undermine a person’s ability to develop a unified sense of self and cultural identity. This theory specifically pertains to Black people growing up in a community dominated by white culture. Toni Morrison’s banned novel opened up a whole new world to me, one that challenged me to deepen and further my existing views of today’s world. 

Yes, it was uncomfortable at times, but I quickly realized that this feeling of discomfort was the same feeling as growth. The Bluest Eye was my introduction to these discussions, and it showed me the importance of being uncomfortable. 

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I really wanted to share my experience with reading a book that so many people heavily criticized and wanted removed from schools. The arts have been used for self-expression and defying standards for such a long time, and I think that they are a powerful tool for exploring societal and personal issues. I want to encourage other people to go beyond their comfort zone and learn about experiences that differ, even wildly, from their own.